The October '00 Road & Track discussed the merits of the E36 M3 ('95 up to E46). It's a great article...I gave a copy to my mechanic who basically confirmed all the information in the article within 15 seconds as true.

My '95 M3 doesn't have the torque ponies of the newer ones -- but it seems there are more of them available in the $22-25K range, which is a bargain for this car.

I didn't worry so much about mileage (mine has about 65K, 48K on rebuild) as I did records. This guy had such fantastic records I couldn't pass the car up!!

Finding one is half the fun -- but wait until one is in your garage.........my black beauty takes my breath away.